SDIWD - Chapter 120

Chapter 120

Judging by Emergency Rations' age, he couldn't possibly be the rusty-spotted cat that had escaped. But considering his previous sensitivity to spirit animals, he was likely a descendant of that escaped test subject.

Hearing Bai Zhen ask this, Hua Mu had a better idea of the situation. She lifted Emergency Rations by the scruff of his neck and stared at him for a long time.

"I didn't realize you had such a background."

Emergency Rations seemed to meow with considerable pride.

"You little thing, getting all smug from one compliment."

Hua Mu nestled in Bai Zhen's arms, teasing the cat, looking utterly content.

While carrying one person and one cat towards the emergency corridor, Bai Zhen said, "Miss, let's go to the data room first, then we'll look for that test subject."

Hua Mu naturally had no objection. However, as the two of them entered the emergency corridor, the spirit animal that had been following them suddenly ran off in the opposite direction, making Luna cry out in alarm.

"Kunkun ran away!"

Bai Zhen was confused. "Kunkun?"

"Aiya, it's that spirit animal!" Hua Mu undoubtedly had a bit of a naming fetish. It's just that at first, she didn't know if it was friend or foe, and she was afraid she'd get attached if she gave it a name, so she kept it to herself. "It's more convenient with a name!"

Bai Zhen was once again shocked by Hua Mu's elegant taste in names!

"Aiya, it's gone! It ran into the emergency corridor on the other side."

Hua Mu was a little anxious.

"It probably went to its host. It's fine, we'll look for it later when we come back down."

Hua Mu was somewhat worried, but she also had many questions she was eager to have answered.

"Okay."

The base had seven floors in total. Level Positive-A was at the highest elevation, and Level Negative-A was at the lowest. Guided by the AI, Bai Zhen smoothly arrived at Level Positive-A. All the security gates they encountered on the way opened automatically.

The rooms in the base were arranged in a ring layout. Each floor had six rows of rooms, numbered incrementally from the inside out. Room 306 was in the third row. Bai Zhen followed the circular corridor, walked east for about a hundred meters, and found the data room without much trouble.

Nowadays, paper documents were rarely used for archiving. So-called data rooms usually just housed devices with viewing permissions. However, considering the box of paper records they had found upstairs, it was very likely this data room also held some physical records.

Hua Mu's clearance was unbelievably high; she could even enter the data room with ease. There was no longer any need for doubt. The royal family that had supported this organization until the very end must have been the Hua family.

Both Bai Zhen and Hua Mu had realized this fact, but they tacitly avoided mentioning it.

The scene in the data room was a bit of a mess. It was clear that many paper documents had indeed been stored here originally. But now, aside from some scattered scraps of paper on the floor, several huge vertical safes had been emptied.

"Xiao Hua, can you activate the optical computer in the data room?"

After entering the base, Bai Zhen had clearly switched into a different "mode," transforming from a guard who was completely obedient to Hua Mu into a Sentinel on a mission.

Compared to the Bai Zhen who always followed her orders, this autonomous and professional demeanor had a different kind of charm.

"Attempting to activate… Insufficient voltage detected. Some lighting facilities must be shut down. Shut down?"

"Shut them down."

Almost at the exact moment Bai Zhen replied, the already dim lights instantly went out. The room was suddenly plunged into endless darkness. If she hadn't been nestled in Bai Zhen's arms, Hua Mu would have certainly screamed.

"Meow~" Emergency Rations also seemed a little nervous, burying his face in Hua Mu's chest.

The darkness didn't last long. The optical computer's projection system in the center of the room began to emit a blue light. The system startup sound was a bit archaic, but fortunately, it ran normally, and the 3D projection was in excellent condition.

"Optical computer activation complete. Please select the content you wish to browse."

Unlike before, this time Bai Zhen did not immediately respond to Xiao Hua's query.

Hua Mu knew she was mentally preparing herself, so she took the initiative and said, "Retrieve data on personnel related to the Sheng Chao royal family."

"Beep-" For the first time, the AI emitted a failure sound. "I'm sorry, your clearance is insufficient. Please select other content to browse."

"What? My clearance isn't high enough to access my own family's data? That's outrageous!"

Hua Mu was so angry she almost jumped out of the Sentinel's arms.

Bai Zhen knew she was just trying to help her relax. No longer hesitating, she said to the AI, "Please retrieve the Bazinga project first."

"Retrieving… Retrieval successful. Now explaining the general contents of the project." The two of them had some understanding of this project; the only thing they didn't know was whether any test subjects had survived.

The 3D projection continuously played footage of the original experiment. When rows upon rows of incubation pods appeared, Hua Mu's hair stood on end, and a chill ran through her body.

The room in the footage was packed as densely as a factory floor with upright incubation pods. The 3D projection was somewhat dim due to the low voltage, but the two of them could still clearly see the appearance of the test subjects inside.

"…This project had a total of 302 test subjects. Among them, there were 300 deaths and 2 transfers."

Bai Zhen had been very concerned about the "transfers" the AI mentioned. She finally asked, "What was the specific time of the transfers?"

"The transfer time for the two Bazinga project test subjects was October 2, 2140. The Frankenstein Base test subjects began to be transferred in August 2040. A total of 1,019 test subjects were transferred in three batches."

The year 2040 was twenty-four years ago… no, after the new year, it would be twenty-five years ago. At that point in time, the masterminds of the Angel's Hand project should have all been apprehended. And in Bai Zhen's past investigations, there was absolutely no mention of such a follow-up.

If she was one of those two test subjects, then what about the other one? And where did the other 1,017 test subjects go? Was this transfer arranged after the International Sentinel-Guide Alliance raided their headquarters, or was it a strategic relocation to evade capture? Or perhaps a third party had swooped in… No, she had been sent to the Black-Eyed Clan by the Tower. Considering the role the Sheng Chao royal family played in this, an answer was about to surface.

It was highly likely that the Sheng Chao royal family had arranged this transfer.

Bai Zhen felt a chill run down her spine. She forced herself to remain calm and asked, "What was the transfer destination?"

"No specific destination was set."

What Bai Zhen thought of, Hua Mu naturally thought of as well. Although this matter couldn't possibly have anything to do with her, her mood couldn't help but grow heavy.

"What on earth was Grandpa thinking?"

Twenty-five years ago, the Sheng Chao Empire was still under the rule of Hua Mu's grandfather, Hua Yuandu. She naturally assumed he had arranged all of this.

Bai Zhen didn't dare to speak ill of the former monarch, only saying, "The situation is still unclear. Let's look a little more."

At this moment, Hua Mu's feelings about this project were incredibly complex. On one hand, she thought that if this project hadn't existed, Bai Zhen wouldn't have been born, and such a person would never have entered her life. On the other hand, she thought about her own family's involvement in such an inhumane experiment that treated human life as worthless. As a victim, what would Bai Zhen be feeling as she faced her?

She couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Ever since arriving at the base, the Sentinel had been in a tense state. She could see how much this mattered to her.

"Bai Zhen…"

Hua Mu wanted to say something, but she didn't know where to begin.

"Xiao Hua, bring up the footage of the Bazinga test subjects."

"Retrieving… Footage of the Bazinga test subjects has been retrieved. The two transferred subjects are numbered 301 and 302, both female. This is footage of them being transferred from the artificial womb to incubation pods. Staff are injecting them with nano-monitors."

Of course, one couldn't tell much from newborn infants; even their skin showed no obvious distinction between black and white.

"Monitors…"

Hua Mu was truly horrified. Bai Zhen stared woodenly at the two infants being injected with monitors at the nape of their necks, her thoughts unreadable.

"Do you have a way to detect the test subjects?"

"All laboratories are equipped with rapid analysis instruments. Do you need me to select the nearest route for you?"

"Select."

"Bai Zhen!" Hua Mu suddenly grabbed Bai Zhen's arm. "Let's finish looking at the data first."

The Sentinel seemed to snap out of a daze and looked down at Hua Mu. Seeing the anxious look on her face, her numb heart felt a slight pang. Her expression softened, and her tone became much gentler.

"You're right. Xiao Hua, cancel navigation and retrieve the data for the HELA project."

"Navigation canceled… I'm sorry, your clearance is insufficient to browse the HELA project data. Please make another selection."

It seemed there were times when a royal family member's clearance was useless. Bai Zhen had no choice but to give up. The two of them asked a few more questions and looked through a lot of data, getting answers for most of their queries.

"…The final executor was Dr. Holman Stein, who used his supervisory authority to set the base to the highest alert status."

Hua Mu had seen the name Holman Stein before. He was one of the people who had written the notes.

"It seems Holman was the one who stayed on the island. I wonder what happened to him in the end."

Bai Zhen had no time to think about such things. Though she was terrified, she was also desperate to confirm her identity.

"Shut down the optical computer. Go to the nearest laboratory."

"Shutting down… The laboratory nearest to you is on the right side of the data room. Please exit, turn right, proceed for twenty meters, and enter the analysis room."

"Bai Zhen…" Regarding the impending truth, it wasn't just Bai Zhen; Hua Mu was also very nervous. Of course, it wasn't that she couldn't accept Bai Zhen's identity, she just didn't want to see her get hurt.

If she were in this situation, she didn't think she would have much of a reaction.

But Bai Zhen was different from her.

The Sentinel's childhood experiences had made her constantly aware of how different she was from others, how she didn't fit in with the world. And now, as the almost certain answer to the mystery was about to be revealed, what kind of mood must she be in?

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